Mexican Street Dog

I don't mean crash crash. I've only had two dangerous bad crashes. I mean hit a root wrong and the bike stops and I keep going, madly trying to keep my feet. Or I can't make that rocky step-up and bail and fall on my butt. I probably drop my bike twice or three times on an average three hour ride. Usually I can keep a hand on the bars so it doesn't get banged up too much, some times I get as far away from it as possible and run run run hop hop hop 'til I can stop. I ride almost exclusivly really rocky and rooty single track, well, that's what I "crash" on, there's a lot of 4 wheeler trails I ride too but I don't tend to fall on those.

So how often do you bail? I think I just ride hard and run into stuff sometimes but maybe I'm just a klutz. My buddy has been falling more since he's riding with me...

ed 

That's not terrible. At least you know you're trying.

I haven't wrecked/bailed much til this year. We opened new tech trail and I've gone OTB 3-4 times. Had to sew up my own elbow a few weeks ago. It's will get fee and farther between soon enough.

Milez

I am new to MTB, for around 3 months. But the only crash I had was when I tried riding back home with a flat tire. LOl, lost tracktion and flew, like a birdey! Ok, it wasnt that bad, but it was stupid. It happend at a red light too......

dminor 

I think it was the wild and crazy Dave Aldana who said "You never know how fast you can go until you crash." Words to live by .

floating dutchy

Personally, I think that the hour to crash ratio is going to be inversely proportional to age, I'm 38 an have to go to work to provide for others so my crash / hour ratio is lower to yours.
If you are 18 (and heal fast) your crash / hour ratio could be higher.

I did an 2 hour plus ride today, Lost balance a couple of times but didn't crash. I should have tried harder I guess.

Mexican Street Dog

Yeah, I rode about two hours and only had two? three? unintentional dismounts. I have a brand new bike though and I don't want to get it banged up. lol



My 2014 Kona Honzo. Goes like a mule with a pepper up it's bum!!

thehammerdog

those reflector things on your wheels scream to the world "I am gonna crash"!!!

apollored

About every 5/6 months.

Last crash was an over the handlebars hitting my u lock on the way over.

hairnet

My more experienced friends like to push my skill and it feels like I crash on every ride with new routes and some familiar ones too. So far I have only bent a brake lever.

Dannihilator

Nowhere as much as I used to.

roccobike

As an older guy I try focusing on staying upright. But, I do crash from time to time. What I find is amazing is, I never crash on the hard stuff, only on the easy trails. I don't get it.

Mexican Street Dog

Yar Har!! I got the bike Saturday!! I'll take them off soon, I promise!! lol


Well, it's good to know that others step off a fair amount. That was my feeling that if I'm going to push my skills I'm going to spill every now and then. I do have to worry about my livelihood so I guess I'll not push it too hard. But as I say to my co-workers when I come in bruised "You think mountain biking's dangerous? Try heart disease!"

sorry, I know the two are not mutually exclusive (cringe)

ColinL

I rarely crash on local trails. They're pretty easy now, and lately I haven't had the fitness to go fast enough, long enough to make a mistake. Need moar seat time.

I did a few trails this summer that were WAY more difficult than my local trails, and suddenly I was crashing. Very consistent-- slow speed techy stuff, no momentum, tip over or a near miss with clipless pedals.

So I switched to platform pedals. Now I can focus on clearing things instead of worrying about unclipping when I think it *might not* clear something. And of course for many obstacles the slower you go the harder it is.

Anyway, I would say that if you're crashing a lot:

1. make sure you are wearing appropriate safety gear. knee pads take rock hits way better than knees. helmet is a no-brainer, literally.

2. if you're riding trails that are difficult for you, crashes and near-misses are expected. unfamiliarity is different than difficulty. every trail is more manageable when you know what you're supposed to be doing, where the line is, and setting up the next section properly.

Daspydyr 

Your posture on the bike seems a tad upright. Do you "dismount" more from a seated position or when you are standing?

I used to ride with the same style of "Crosstraining shoe." But a pair of sticky shoes really helps keep your feet on the pedals.

s0ul_chicken

I would put the blame squarely on the winkies!

Mexican Street Dog

Mostly slow techy standing stuff is what gets me. And those are 5.10s, very sticky.

Daspydyr 

Opps, My bad, I love my 5.10s. Slow techy stuff is what gets me, sometimes a dab, sometimes a somersault, then there are the pancake face plants!

Pamestique 

Routine rides; ones I do often... never. New/Longer/more technical rides... I have at least one "I'M FREAKED OUT" moment every so often, sometimes ending in a crash. I know when I ride confidently the bike rolls over stuff and I have no problems. All my crashes come from going too slow and riding cautiously (when I'M FREAKED OUT!). Last bad crash (about 2 months ago) I landed hard on my chest and had a large hematoma, in the shape of my camera, on my chest for a month. Boy that hurt... just this last Saturday I was going too slow up a steep climb and had to stop; foot came down where there was a ditch and I just rolled over into the hillside. About 2 years ago, coming down a steep hill on my hardtail, the front wheel hit a rock (as I was told) and the bike flipped sideways slamming me into the ground. Now mind you this was on a routine ride I have done a million times...Head hit a rock and I was out for several minutes. Truly a "what happened**********" moment... but generally the slow techy stuff is my "downfall" (pun intended)...

elcruxio

I haven't actually crashed in a long time. I get a LOT of close calls though but somehow I can always stop or slow before I actually go over.
Normally it's the rear tire sticking in the rocks and me almost OTB'ing.
But there was this one pretty memorable close call a few weeks age where I was going 40mph down a nice fast utility road. Now as you all probably know when you choose the style you're going to take a turn you have to follow through with that style or bomb spectaculary. Now as I'm only a beginner at this I decided I could probably make the tightest turn with putting most of my weight on the front tire. Problem with that technique of course is that it only works well on snow (I know that now) and low speed tight turns. At 40mph the whole "let the rear tire follow you like a fish tail" makes for a wobbly bike.
I was a quarter into the turn when I realized I'm going into the trees. Not being able to change the style at that point I panic pump both brakes in a staccato fashion and lean right with all my might so I would not literally die. The road was raised so there was a steep section down between the road and forest. I saw at the turn apex that my tire was on the 1 inch grass section before the drop and I would have gone straight against a largeish pine had I been 1 inch further out.
It's funny how time slows down at situations like those.

I had went on the ride to vent all my frustration, anger and depression. Funnily enough I was not depressed or frustrated or angry after the ride

dminor 

I will note that a tendency toward clumsiness and a desire to go WFO are a dangerous mix . . .

Papa Wheelie

They say that some things come in 3's. This year, I have had three crashes of consequence. I ride about 4-5 times a week, with 3-4 of those "lunch-time" rides of an hour or so, with 2-4 hour rides on the weekends.

Crash #1 : Was trying this "double up" jump on a trail that we ride quite often. Two "Kelly humps" are about 10 feet apart on an uphill section (with a slight curve) that is after a downhill that allows you to get up to about 25 mph on. The last 4 or 5 times up this section, I got the bright idea to try and make those Kelly humps into a double, and each time I was getting closer and closer. The last time I tried, I carried as much speed as I could on the downhill section, and as I was pre-loading for the jump off the lower Kelly hump (the trails were super dry), and as I was getting ready to "jump" (in that slight "curvy" part of the trail), the front end washed out, and I pretty much face planted, with my bike tumbling up the hill past the second Kelly hump. Result? Just some trail rash.

Crash #2 : Was going down hill, carrying a little bit of speed through a sandy corner that gets VERY DEEP around the outside of the turn. As I was coming into the corner, I unclipped my inside leg, and tried to really rail the inside of the corner where the ground was much more stable. My front wheel caught the inside lip of the corner, and washed out. Result? As I was sliding along the ground, my shorts picked up a rock, and that rock "rolled up" my shorts, and gave me a 4"-5" bruise. No biggie.

Crash #3 . Was leading the lunchtime group, and we were done climbing, and turned around for the downhill blast. Was not "racing" by any means, but moving out at a decent pace. Not wearing any headphones, and I start hearing some kind of yelling behind me. What? I kinda glance over my shoulder, and don't recognize the rider as my riding buddy. What? Keep going, and hear some more yelling, so as I begin to pull over to see what is going on, Joe Cyclocross goes by, saying "Gotcha!". What? My buddy is directly behind him, with Joe Cyclocross's buddy directly behind him. Ok. So this is a race now, and they are trying to ride through our group? Ain't gonna happen. I take off, and reel Joe Cyclocross in, am about 2 feet off his rear wheel, looking for my spot to go back by, and we come across Joe Innocent going uphill. Joe Cyclocross goes off the trail TO THE LEFT, which took away Joe Innocent's escape route. I am trying hard to stay to the right of the trail, but Joe Innocent has now taken that, as he was trying to avoid Joe Cyclocross. Joe Innocent and I hit, head-on, at about 15+ mph. I smash into him, and go flying a$$ over tea-kettle. I pick myself up, and am hurt. Joe Innocent has a snapped-in-half taco'd wheel, and a bent fork. We shake hands, and go our separate ways. He walked home, I went to the e-room. Result? I ended up with a 25% compression fracture of a thoracic vertebrae.

Lesson learned? If Joe Cyclocross wants to be a jacka$$, and ride through the group, let him. Slow down, and live to ride another day....

ColinL

number 3 sounds really painful, and entirely avoidable. although most of the trails around here are unidirectional, a few aren't and I fear a head-on collision like that.

Mexican Street Dog

That is a freakin' bummer! What is "I ended up with a 25% compression fracture of a thoracic vertebrae." ?

The "winkies" are still on my bike! lol I think they're good luck now!

Papa Wheelie

This is about the best picture that I could find. Basically, the compression of the hit to my knoggin' was transferred down the spine, until one of them "gave out". This picture is worse than mine actually is. I am about 1/3 of what this picture shows.

Mexican Street Dog

Ack!